New York Times: It's time to end the Cuban Adjustment Act

It is time to end immigration policy toward Cuba, a relic of the Cold War that is hindering the normalization of relations between Washington and Havana, said the American newspaper New York Times."Congress should repeal the Cuban Adjustment Act, a 1966 law that created an expedited mechanism to admit Cubans at a time when the US was seeking to undermine a Soviet ally," said the publication.The prestigious US media pointed out the obvious: now that diplomatic relations between Havana and Washington have been restored, Cubans fear the cease of the privileged treatment they receive from the US on migration.The current policy –it adds- has been a boon to human traffickers in Latin America and has been used by the Cuban government as a pretext to impose strict controls on its people.For the newspaper, the Obama administration should negotiate a new agreement with the Cuban government that makes orderly immigration the norm. Cubans who arrive in the United States without authorization should be sent back unless they show a credible fear of persecution. The United States should also end a separated program that encourages Cuban medical professionals on government assignments abroad to defect to the United States.In exchange, the government of the island must accept the return of 34,500 Cubans convicted of crimes subject to American deportation orders and remain in the United States because Havana has refused to issue them travel documents.